Somebody get Hollywood on the phone because these hitchhiking stories should be turned into movies.
I feel like there is such lore around hitchhiking.
So, I decided to ask theBuzzFeed Communityfor theirwildest hitchhiking stories.
And boy, oh boy, did y’all not disappoint.
Many of the following stories left me shaken, not stirred.
And, warning: some stories discuss attempted violence and attempted murder.
I started freaking out, thinking this is it; Im the next missing girl."
I never hitchhiked again."
Tracy, California
2.
He laughed and said, ‘You ain’t going nowhere.’
I was terrified and sick to my stomach.
I cried and pleaded for him to let me go; I wouldn’t tell anyone.
He ignored my cries and kept driving.
I thought I’d wet myself, but I had instantaneously begun to menstruate in a heavy gush."
He slowed down and let me out, threatening to harm me if I reported it.
I ran into the woods, thinking he would shoot me.
I crouched behind a tree and watched him drive off.
I was picked up by a bread truck delivery driver.
He took me to the police station, and I made a report.
Six years later, I was watching HBO’sInside the Mind of a Serial Killer.
I have forgotten his name, but will never forget the horror of his face and voice.
Later, I learned that women will spontaneously menstruate in times of acute stress.
That is what saved me."
Emma, Pennsylvania
3.
“In the early 2000s, I picked up a hitchhiker.
He looked like a typical tree planter, and theyre usually chill, so I let him in.
He asked me for some spare change, and I gave him a $5 bill.
He said it was too much, but I told him not to worry.
In the end, he left me with his 6-inch hunting knife as a thank-you.
It definitely weirded me out.”
jungumper
4.
“I havent picked up anyone personally.
The man described the hitchhiker as looking disheveled, ragged, and weary.
The man managed to drop the hitchhiker off at his requested destination.”
Unbeknownst to him, it was the hitchhiker that he picked up."
Anonymous
5.
“I was a 19-year-old girl traveling solo and staying at a hostel on the North Shore in Oahu.
About 10 yards from me, they caught him and started beating him.
Just then, a white guy in a sedan pulled up and jumped out.
He was encouraging the group that was beating on the little guy.
As they left, the guy in the sedan got on his radio and called for backup.
He was a cop.
Given the options, I figured Id rather take my chances hitching a ride with a stranger.
He turned out to be a Mormon father and husband stationed at the military base.
A super nice guy.”
I was a 22-year-old woman, and I was moving home before I went into the army.
I pulled over in my 1977 Buick LeSabre, full of my stuff."
The smiles on their little faces were heartbreaking.
I took them to the next exit and dropped them off.
Never saw them again.
Hope they got home alright."
luneursa1
7.
“I was picked up by a Department of Public Safety trooper.
I thought I was getting arrested, but he just gave me a ride to work.
My fellow employees saw me getting out of the Department of Public Safety cruiser.”
Chris, Texas, while hitchhiking on their way to work at a supermarket in Austin
8.
“It was about 10 p.m. on South Lamar.
A car with two men and a woman in the front seat stopped to pick me up.
They were coming from a bar, and all three were drunk.
They needed me to drive.
Neither of the men wanted to get in the backseat and leave the woman with the other man.
So, I drove to my apartment with all four of us in the front seat.”
Chris, Texas, while hitchhikinghome from workat a supermarket in Austin
9.
He was chatty enough, but we all had a creeped-out, uneasy feeling.
It was one of the most terrifying experiences.
It terrifies me now, knowing how bad that could have turned out."
Anonymous, near Sudbury, Ontario
10.
“I was hitchhiking home from school when a car stopped.
I jumped in the car, and the driver asked where I was going.
That is when I looked at him, and there was no steering wheel on the car.
I hitched to the nearest truck stop on the interstate to find a ride.
The next guy did the same.
They all treated me like their daughter.
I arrived safe and sound.”
“The last time I hitchhiked was in college.
I got picked up by a soon-to-be Academy Award-winning animator.
He drove about 20 miles out of his way to get me home.
Thankfully, I have never had a bad experience.”
laughingcaptain56
(Okay, but who was the Academy Award-winning animator?!?!?)
“I used to hitchhike a lot.
Probably have several thousand miles logged that way.
Twice, Ive had handguns brandished in my face.
They said it was all for their class play.”
I got out at the next turn."
minichicken778
14.
“One afternoon in the late 80’s, I picked up a guy on my way home.
I was having a bad day, and helping another person out usually helped boost my mood.
“That didn’t sit well, so I dropped the passenger side wheel off the road.
He freaked a little and told me to get back on the road.
Like I said, I was having a bad day.
He said I wouldn’t, so I pressed the accelerator down.
He said I was nuts and tossed the knife.
Anonymous, Park Hills, Missouri
15.
“Hitchhiked on Maui all the time in 2016!
you’ve got the option to grab a slice if you want!'”
When one finally did, we stuck out our thumbs.”
The mustache guy took off, and the officer helped us get fuel.
She had recognized him, too.
It was Gary Ridgway who stopped to offer us a ride that night.”
It was the last day of August, and it was snowing in Yellowstone.
No one was picking us up as most tourists were gone for the season."
We did that, and the next morning, we headed to the highway and stuck our thumbs out.
But we made it to Minneapolis, and I spent a few days there with my friend.
51 years later, she is still the most beautiful soul on the planet."
Some entries may have been edited for length/clarity.
